Getting the corral off the drawing board and onto the ground was a lengthy process, but ultimately the project was able to march ahead thanks to both local residents’ support and political will. The day the bike corral officially opened was rightfully celebrated as a great stride in the city’s efforts to become more bicycle friendly.

However, great as these accomplishment are, we don’t fully know the impact of bike lane projects and neighborhood bike networks unless we collect data evaluating the impacts of all this new bike infrastructure. How do new bike lanes and road diets affect the number of people bicycling on a street? Do bike lanes improve overall street safety? These are questions we need to answer. Additionally, we don’t know where bike infrastructure is most needed, and has the most potential if we don’t know the popular cycling corridors in the city. Simply put, data collection is incredibly important for evaluating the effectiveness of existing bikeways, and determining how best to advance new bicycle projects.

The LACBC is now in the process of coordinating bike counts for 2013. They are scheduled to take place on the 10th and 14th of September, and the LACBC needs your help to put together the most comprehensive and accurate bike counts yet. Because this year’s bike counts will be conducted shortly after over a hundred of new miles have been implemented and with highly anticipated road diets on the horizon, they are especially crucial from a data collection standpoint. The LACBC’s September bike counts will offer an indication of how effective the past fiscal year’s bike lanes have been while offering important “before” data for future bike lane projects.

Ultimately, by simply continuing to count bicycle and pedestrian traffic, the LACBC will be collecting and compiling data the city unfortunately would not otherwise have, while reminding us not to overlook those walking and bicycling on our public streets. All modes of travel matter and deserve to be counted.

If you can, please consider signing up to volunteer for the LACBC’s bike counts. The simple act of collecting accurate data on bicycle and pedestrian usage on our streets will simultaneously help educate Angelenos on the growing popularity of active transportation, evaluate the effectiveness of existing bikeways, and provide valuable data on streets slated for future bikeways.

123 miles is about the distance from Los Angeles City Hall to downtown San Diego. Mayor Villaraigosa announced February 21st that it is also the number of bikeways installed by LADOT since the beginning of Bicycle Plan implementation in March 2011. The rate of 61 miles every 12 months is almost eight times as fast as in the last 40 years.

A list of the mileage completed so far this fiscal year can be found here:

After sharrowing 20 miles of roads in October 2011, LADOT crews will be sharrowing another 20 miles, starting this month. “Sharrows” are shorthand for Shared Lane Markings (SLMs), and are used to identify streets that are designated as shared roadways for bicyclists and motorists.

According to the Department’s Sharrow Report, SLMs have three primary functions: to be a supplemental wayfinding device, to help announce the presence of bicyclists to motorists, and inform bicyclists where they should ride to prevent “dooring“.

The Bureau of Sanitation is looking for the location of storm drain grates that they can upgrade to a design more friendly to bicycle tires. The current effort will help Sanitation to find locations that are the highest priority by bicyclists for replacement. The grate above on the left is an older design, while the right shows the new bicycle-safe one. Cross-hatching prevents tires from getting caught.

We need your help in finding grates that are the highest priority for replacement. If you see a grate that needs to be upgraded, please let us know the nearest intersection and what side of the street it is located on. For instance, a good description would be: “on the northbound side of Figueroa as it approaches 7th Street.” If possible, please include a photo of the grate in question.

Unfortunately, we cannot improve grates outside the jurisdiction of the City of Los Angeles, so please be sure the grate you are submitting is actually in City limits.

There are plenty of ways for you to let us know what grates need upgrading.